And with another week in the rear view mirror, we return to Twin Peaks: The Return. This week was a little maddening as it teased a whole lot but didn’t move things along much but it did spend time with old faces. Let’s rock! But be warned, there are spoilers throughout this.
1. BOOP Makes A Move
After a few weeks, BOOP (Killer BOB + Coop) is back and he’s made it to Ray’s little hideout/base in Montana. Once there, BOOP is looking for revenge and he’s faced with Renzo (Derek Mears a.k.a. Jason Voorhies), the group’s leader. Renzo has never been beaten in an arm wrestling match and if BOOP can beat him then he will get to be the leader of this gang. However, BOOP just wants Ray. He wants his revenge but he also wants to know what Ray knows. This is such a weird sequence but not for the usual reasons. It’s almost making fun of gang/mafia stories by how ridiculous it is and with an arm wrestling match, it kind of pokes fun at masculinity in how BOOP handles the whole thing. We have to always keep in mind that BOOP is not from this plane of existence and he has some powers that we can’t entirely explain. He uses them and absolutely devastates Renzo in one punch and kills him. I am constantly mesmerized by how Kyle MacLachlan plays this part because he’s bored and a stone cold killer all at once. It’s unlike Dale Cooper in every way and really separates the characters from each other.
2. Phillip Jeffries Lives
Phillip Jeffries is alive in this series and in this episode, he becomes even more a part of the ongoing saga of BOOP in our world. Ray has some vital information for BOOP and it all revolves around Jeffries. Jeffries is the one who told Ray to kill BOOP and he told him that he has something inside him. He also tells BOOP that Jeffries told him to put on the green ring after he killed BOOP but that never happened and right before he’s shot down, Ray gives him the last known coordinates of Phillip Jeffries. I have become convinced in the last few weeks that David Bowie will make an appearance on Twin Peaks: The Return. Despite his passing in 2016, Showtime would not comment on whether or not they were able to film anything. Bowie filmed a music video not too long before his death so I don’t think it would be too much of a stretch to maybe guess that he did something for the series. Twin Peaks: The Return has been so well received and Fire Walk With Me was not (wrongly so. That movie is vital to this whole thing) so I am loving how much of that has come into play.
3. More Adventures With Dougie
Dougie/Dale is still “asleep” and in the little bit we see of him this week, he’s not really the focus. Instead, the focus is the fallout of when we last saw him. He’s brought back to work by the Mitchum Brothers who give his wife and son some very lavish gifts. They thank Mullins for his role in this and it puts Sinclair on the ropes. He’s in a lot of trouble at this point and he tries to kill Dougie but backs out when he realizes how crazy this all sounds. Elsewhere, the detectives get back Dougie’s fingerprints and find out that he’s Dale Cooper but laugh the whole thing off because it sounds ridiculous to them.
This isn’t a major part of the episode but I found tonight’s Dougie scenes really, really funny because everyone is even more clueless and self-absorbed than before. Despite my own impatience, I am amazed by how this keeps feeling fresh and right. We don’t have much time left so I’m eager for the next swerve. I think we’ll be seeing the Blue Rose crew in Las Vegas very, very soon.
4. Your OTP Is Dead and More Town Troubles
Bobby and Shelly are done and so are Big Ed and Norma. Our OTPs are dead and you know what, I’m okay with it. While not fun for shippers, I think a lot is being said by all these couples not working out the way we wanted. It’s like our real lives. Couples don’t always make it no matter how perfect they seem. Being married for 30 years is not exactly the easiest thing to do and it takes a lot of work. A LOT OF WORK. It’s heart breaking but it keeps Twin Peaks feeling more in line with reality even though all this crazy stuff is happening around the story. There’s always been this lingering loneliness in the series and this episode zeroes in on that through these break ups but it also gives us a new OTP. Dr. Jacoby and Nadine belong together and I hope they launch a crazy InfoWars type show.
Continued belowWe also get a glimpse of Sarah Palmer’s life and this is probably the saddest thing that we see in this entire series. Sarah Palmer has lost her daughter, husband and social status in this little town. She’s an alcoholic who sits alone in her home watching old boxing matches. I think in all of the drama that was the first two seasons of this show, we forget about Sarah Palmer and what she went through and clearly still suffers from. Her breakdown last week and the noises we hear in her home this week lead me to believe she will also have a role to play in the endgame of this show but I can’t shake this scene with her. It’s so sad but not desperate. It’s more loss and loneliness.
5. “What story is that, Charlie?”
Last week I was so excited to finally see my beloved Audrey Horne and I still am but this week got me thinking about her place in this whole tale. I’ve mentioned this before but in the Mark Frost written book that told the history of the actual town of Twin Peaks, we were told that Audrey did indeed survive the bank explosion. However, I question if she’s actually awake at this point or if she’s experiencing a fake reality. I think it’s weird that not a single Horne has mentioned Audrey and that Audrey seems to really amp up while Charlie remains so calm. Is Audrey in the middle of a delusion brought on by trauma suffered by the explosion or something involving BOOP? Or is Audrey in a coma, imagining all of this? I have no idea but I am questioning everything involving Audrey’s scenes at this point and of all the plot points not involving Cooper, this is the one I want answers to the most.
This doesn’t get an official number but I cackled when the final song of the night was James Hurley singing “You and I.” We have been trolled and I was not ready for it.
What did you think of tonight’s episode? Let me know in the comments below!
